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Passenger Seat Belts

It just doesn’t make sense to me why all the express buses are not equipped with seat belts for all passengers.

I, for one, would feel safer if the passanger seats are equipped with seat belts. I would put it on if it was available. I am sure many other passengers feel the same. As I am typing this blog on my Galaxy SII, I am sitting at the back most seat of the express bus. It really does feel like a real roller coaster. At least the roller coaster has the similar-to-seat-belt safety device.

I used to take the Plusliner buses between UTP and KL on Fridays and Sundays. But since the ETS train services began more than a year ago, I have stopped taking the bus because of the convenience of the electric training service. In addition to having more time to read and do useful things while in the train, I also get to meet people. For example I met several UTP colleagues in the train who I wouldn’t have met otherwise.

Anyway, since I started my attachment at a company in Penang, I have started taking the bus again. When I started in Penang, I started with taking the Airasia flights, but since I always decide last minute to buy the ticket, I end up spending about RM300 every weekend. With the express bus, I can buy the ticket on the spot. There are several buses running between Penang and KL every hour. It costs only about RM100 including cab fare or car park fee.

The problem with buses is that they drive very fast. Regardless which bus company I take, the situation is the same. In some instances, I felt like the bus was traveling well above 120 kph, hurtling through the busy highway. Going downhill after the tunnel just before Jelapang was extremely heart pounding. I’m not saying that I don’t drive fast, but a car is easier to maneuver and stop when the situation requires.

It’s difficult to tell bus companies to make their drivers drive slower following their highway-limit of 90kph. The police who enforce the traffic rules also don’t seem to bother. All buses in the country drive well above 100kph on the highway. I know because I drive on the highway between UTP and KL or Penang.

So at least if I have a seat belt to hold me to the seat in case of a minor accident, at the very least I will not be thrown out of the windows like what you have seen so many times happening on Malaysian roads. Many passengers lose their lives when the bus loses control. It would have been much less fatal if the passenger seat belts were made available and enforced, just like the passenger seat belts on cars. I hope most of you would agree.

That’s my 6 cents (sixth sense, get it!).
P/s: My first blog posted on mobile phone and while in a bus.